Blackmoor Chronicles

[aldarron]

In a 1985 interview with Dave in Game News, the intro says "He is currently working on an updated Blackmoor Dungeon for Mayfair Games Inc., titled Blackmoor Chronicles." DA explains "We hope to have a lot of fun with Blackmoor Chronicles and show what D&D originally was aimed at, which was to have a good time and not take itself so seriously."

Google info from the dragon con site gives the only other clue I know of "the Blackmoor Chronicles, 4 vols. (published by TSR), a series of role -playing game scenarios for use with Dungeons & Dragons"

Which seems to be confusing the Blackmoor Chronicles with the DA series of modules - perhaps the blurb was written in anticipation of publication.

Hmmm. I wonder if Gary got word of this project and offered to have TSR publish it instead of Mayfair. Maybe some of those notes Dave gave Ritchie were for the Chronicles project? It does sound, however, like a major focus of the Chronicles project was a rewrite of Blackmoor Dungeon. Anyone know anything else?

[sheridan]

Very interesting! I actually have no idea, but I'll hazard a guess that the four volumes may have been comprised of what became DA1-DA3 (since Dave had little to do with DA4) and maybe what would have been DA5, City of Blackmoor, with references to the dungeons under the castle?

[aldarron]

Very interesting! I actually have no idea, but I'll hazard a guess that the four volumes may have been comprised of what became DA1-DA3 (since Dave had little to do with DA4) and maybe what would have been DA5, City of Blackmoor, with references to the dungeons under the castle?

Right! I forgot about DA5. I bet that's it. My impression from the brief bits in the article was that the chronicles would revise the traditional BM places (Totf, the dungeon, CotG, and maybe Comeback Inn?) in some sort of "chronicle" story arc. I'd guess that Dave invented Uther as a dues ex machina of the story. It would be fascinating to know what Dave originally had in mind.

[Havard]

Very interesting! I actually have no idea, but I'll hazard a guess that the four volumes may have been comprised of what became DA1-DA3 (since Dave had little to do with DA4) and maybe what would have been DA5, City of Blackmoor, with references to the dungeons under the castle?

Right! I forgot about DA5. I bet that's it. My impression from the brief bits in the article was that the chronicles would revise the traditional BM places (Totf, the dungeon, CotG, and maybe Comeback Inn?) in some sort of "chronicle" story arc. I'd guess that Dave invented Uther as a dues ex machina of the story. It would be fascinating to know what Dave originally had in mind.

Yeah, that sounds very likely. DA5 would most likely have included revised maps of Blackmoor Town, Blackmoor Castle and the Blackmoor Dungeon, from the FFC and descriptions of those locations as well as a plot to get the PCs from one location to the next.

As to the idea of a story arc, that does seem likely, but the DA series do exactly that. Perhaps Dave Arneson's involvement in the DA modules is greater than we have previously thought?

In any case, this find is interesting as it tells us Dave seems to have been continuously working on the promotion of Blackmoor, even in the decade between the release of the FFC and the DA modules.

-Havard